The little engine that could run on natural gas

Copyright 2012: Houston Chronicle |
October 16, 2012

The imagery of the "little engine that could" chugging its way down the tracks with a plume of smoke and a coal-tender trailing behind has a special place in many Houston hearts. After all, a locomotive is the central feature of the city of Houston seal.

There's a reason why: This city made its early economic reputation as a rail center, and that is no less true today. Trains are a feature of the landscape in Houston, as surely as freeways are, and thank heavens for that. Those big freight trains move goods to and from the Port of Houston and major industries in the region.

The steam-powered locomotive has long since been replaced by powerful diesel-fueled engines capable of pulling what can seem like miles of freight cars, especially to drivers waiting in Houston traffic for a freight train to rumble past.

But there was another powerful reason why a group of train-industry executives recently met here and in Chicago to discuss the future of locomotive technology: abundant natural gas.

As business writer Zain Shauk reported last week, a locomotive powered by natural gas is being tested in the Canadian province of Alberta, and the results hold promise ("Natural gas may be a cheaper, cleaner way to run a railroad," Page A1, Oct. 10).

This story, in its drawing-board phase, has potential significant economic benefit for Houston (as well as Texas and the national economy) written all over it.

The sheer volume of energy used by railroad locomotives is one major reason why. Two of the industry's largest companies, Union Pacific and BNSF, each use about 1 billion gallons of diesel annually.

Switching to natural gas on that scale would provide an enormous kick-start to the industry, which is facing flat prices due to increases in domestic production, and must overcome numerous infrastructure issues in the transportation area for gas to achieve its full market potential.

For the railroads, switching to natural gas would be a switch on the order of that earlier one from steam to diesel. So it is being approached with understandable caution, as Shauk reported.

The momentum for pursuing the switch is being generated by rising diesel prices, which account for 26 percent of Union Pacific's total expenses, according to federal filings. Even at prices above the current three-dollar/mcf range now being paid, natural gas would offer significant potential savings. But retrofits to diesel engines ranging from $600,000 to $1 million would be needed to make the switch to natural gas.

Obviously, the freight rail industry will make its decisions based on its economic self-interest. But the interest signaled by the test line in Alberta and the technical meetings here and elsewhere is further evidence of the surge of interest generated by the affordability and availability of domestic natural gas.

That is welcome news for both the economy and the environment. If it comes to pass, it may even be reason for an update to the city seal.